University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Suspension of All Fraternity and Sorority Activities After Misconduct Reports

On August 22, 2025, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ordered all UTC Greek organizations to cease “all fraternity and sorority activities,” including “social events, recruitment/intake activities, new member education, and organizational programs,” until September 5. UTC claimed as a rationale “recent events that have appeared in the media and raised concerns regarding fraternity and sorority life,” potentially referring to news reports of a sexual assault after an unspecified fraternity party and hazing involving another fraternity chapter. However, UTC did not disclose the alleged misconduct or which groups were allegedly involved. On August 26, FIRE wrote UTC explaining that this sweeping approach violates the First Amendment because it punishes students for associating with delinquent groups. We called on UTC to end its sanctions and commit to individualized disciplinary determination going forward. UTC informed FIRE that it will end the ban early on September 2 and that it only applied to “official events and activities of the organizations.” On October 8, FIRE responded that such systemwide punishments, even when limited to official events for a few weeks, unduly restrict students’ expressive rights and are an inappropriate response to isolated misconduct allegations.